The present invention relates to an electric lock casing for automobile vehicle boot closure members, for example boot lids or hatchbacks.
Automobile vehicle boot closure members are equipped with a lock which generally includes at least one plate mounted on the boot closure member and which supports the various mechanical components of the lock.
Those mechanical components generally comprise a bolt mounted on the plate and pivoting on a pivot pin between an open position disengaged from a striker and a position tripped by said striker and a ratchet mechanism mounted on said plate and pivoting about a pivot pin between a position locking the bolt in the closed position and a position releasing said bolt.
The bolt is associated with a return spring member which biases it to an open position, i.e. a position disengaged from the striker, and the ratchet mechanism is associated with a return spring member which biases it in the direction of the bolt.
The above mechanical components are associated with an electrical module which includes an electric motor whose output shaft co-operates with a kinematic system operating on an actuator member of the ratchet mechanism.
The various mechanical components and the electrical module are housed in a casing fixed to the plate which is itself mounted on the boot closure member.
Until now, lock casings have included at least two independent parts, for example a base supporting the various components of the lock and a cover fixed to the base by screw members.
The base has, at the bottom, a throat adapted to receive the striker mounted on the structure of the boot when the boot closure member is closed.
The above type of casing, generally made from plastics materials, require several injection moulding operations during its fabrication and several assembly operations during its fitting to the vehicle, not to mention the use of screw members for fixing the cover to the base, all of which significantly increases the cost of the locks provided with such casings.
An object of the invention is to avoid the above drawbacks.
The invention therefore provides an electrical lock casing for a closure member of an automobile vehicle boot, said lock comprising a mechanical module including, on at least one bracket, a bolt pivoting between a position disengaged from a striker and a position engaged over said striker, a ratchet mechanism pivoting between a position immobilising the bolt in the tripped position and a position releasing said bolt, an actuator member for actuating the ratchet mechanism, and an electrical module including a sensor for sensing the position of the bolt and a connection and power supply circuit for the sensor and an electric motor whose output shaft co-operates with a kinematic system for actuating the actuator member of the ratchet mechanism, characterized in that the casing comprises:
a first member receiving the mechanical module and including an upper part for supporting said bracket and an inverted U-shaped lower part forming a housing for the bolt and the ratchet mechanism and having at its base a throat through which the striker passes,
a second member for supporting the electrical module and the kinematic system joined to the upper part of the first member by a hinge by means of which the second member pivots on the first member to connect the kinematic system to the actuator member of the ratchet mechanism, and
a cover connected to the second member by a hinge whereby said cover pivots over the face of the second member opposite that in contact with the first member to support the electrical module and the kinematic system.
According to other features of the invention:
the first member, the second member and the cover form a one-piece plastics material component,
the hinge between the first member and the second member is parallel to the plane of pivoting of the bolt.
the hinge between the second member and the cover is perpendicular to the plane of pivoting of the bolt,
the second member includes bearing surfaces for supporting the electrical module and the kinematic system, the cover includes complementary bearing surfaces for supporting said electrical module and said kinematic system, and said bearing surfaces are moulded in one piece with said casing,
the second member has at least one lug for attaching it to the first member, the cover has at least one lug for attaching it to the second member and said lugs are moulded in one piece with said casing.